Birmingham Agency Serves up Guest Judge at National Drinks Awards

A Birmingham agency is serving up a Guest judge for the UK’s most prestigious drinks industry awards later this month.

Matt Guest, Head of On Trade at Birmingham-based marketing agency WAA Chosen, has been selected as an expert judge for The Publican Awards, which takes place on 12th March and brings together the biggest names from the UK pub sector.

As Head of On Trade at WAA Chosen, Matt leads the agency’s work for Diageo GB, including the development of the Diageo Bar Academy which trains over 25,000 bar tenders in the UK each year.

Matt says: “I’m delighted to be involved with The Publican Awards and honoured to join my fellow judges in reviewing the best of the talent in a vibrant UK pub industry.

“I’m truly passionate about service – to me, it is a truly selfless act if performed honestly. I’ve spent more than 20 years in the sector, both as the host or training others to be the best host they can be, and now bringing this expertise to WAA Chosen’s dedicated retail and leisure hub, Stir, for our clients across leading breweries, pub operators and snack companies.

“It’s great to see these highly skilled bar staff constantly innovating and pushing the boundaries, and we look forward to celebrating with the finalists and winners on the night.”

WAA Chosen is an award-winning integrated agency based in Sutton Coldfield. Its specialist retail and leisure hub, Stir, offers insight-driven solutions for drinks industry clients including Diageo, Britvic, Greene King and Marstons.

With over 80 staff working across automotive, construction, and retail and leisure accounts including Beiersdorf, intu, Pirelli, Shell and Saint-Gobain, the agency has recently ranked in the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Small Companies 2019, achieving Best in Business 3 Star, and Investors in People Gold Award.